‘Lyme disease nearly made me come indoors,’ says Ray Mears
Excerpted from The Independent ( Posted: 04/12/2011 )
Ray Mears, the British survival guru, has revealed how a tick bite led to a 14-year battle with Lyme disease that nearly ended his career.
Mears, who presents television shows including Survival and Wild Britain, was speaking at the start of Tick Awareness Week. He described how a tick bite led to excruciating back pain and declining health that almost forced him to give up work. “The pain I had in my back was so bad that if I sneezed I almost blacked out with the pain,” he said. “I was getting to the point where I was going to have to think about doing something different for work… I don’t know when I contracted whatever it was, but I think it was Lyme disease. I had it for 14 or so years.”
Lyme disease is a bacterial illness transmitted by ticks. According to the Health Protection Agency, up to 3,000 people contract the illness, also known as borreliosis, each year. Campaigners say the problem is worsening, as warmer winters and wetter summers allow ticks to spread further afield and many doctors remain ignorant of the disease.
For the complete article: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/lyme-disease-nearly-made-me-come-indoors-says-ray-mears-2266460.html
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